Archive for the ‘Salvation’ Category

Life is filled with questions. As a teenager you might have asked the question, “Should I go to college or go straight into the workforce after high school?” As a young married couple the question could arise, “shall my wife (or I – if a woman) stay at home with my children or work to help provide a more stable income for the family economy?” As a weary college football fan, “Should I still pull for the University of Georgia and have my heart torn out each year when they will inevitably make a foolish mistake and loose the championship?” No doubt, some questions are more important than others. Some will have greater consequences than others. Some will provide a higher risk than others. In all questions, as a Christian, we should seek wisdom and find our answers from the Scriptures and the godly council of others. However, among all the questions that we face in life, I believe that there are three that stand above them all. I believe how you answer these 3 questions will determine not just the joy that you have in life, but the eternity in which you will spend it. Let’s take a look at these questions.

What Shall I do with Jesus?

This is by far the most important question that everyone must answer in life. Your eternity hinges on how you answer this question. In Matthew 16 Jesus asks a similar question when He asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples then explain, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” These were honorable answers. These were all godly men. But, the problem with their answers is that they were all wrong. They had mistaken Jesus as a good man instead of the GOD-man. There is an eternal and astronomical difference here. He is God in the flesh, not just flesh who was godly. Then Jesus turns to them and asks the more personal question, “But who do you say that I am?” It is there where Peter gives the great confession that Jesus was indeed the long awaited Messiah. Peter, as the representative of the disciples, got it right.

What you do with Jesus will determine every other thing about you and your life. When it comes to the judgment day, God will not grade on a curve. The question is a one question test. It is pass or fail. It will not be good enough to say simply that Jesus was a good man. No, He must be acknowledged as sovereign Lord. This is evidenced by personal faith and repentance that produces spiritual fruit in one’s life.

What shall I do with Jesus? All other questions pale in comparison to this one. Whether you are a 12 year old who has grown up in church, or a tribesman in Africa, the question demands an answer. This is why it is at the top of the list.

Who shall I marry?

The Proverbs are filled with exhortation about choosing a spouse wisely (Proverbs 5:15, 12:4, 21:9, 27:15). One of my favorites comes from Proverbs 31:10 which says, “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” Here we are reminded that the value of a godly wife is of eminent value. Husbands are instructed to “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” This means a good and godly husband is to love absolutely, and lead sacrificially, just as Jesus did. When you get married, you are committing to love this person, and live with this person until “death do us part.” This is part of our vows. You are meant to complement each other. The Lord has created you both uniquely for these roles. However, if you choose your spouse in an unwise manner, it can make for a not so joyous life.

Scripture is clear on the matter. The Proverbs talk about the quarrelsome woman that is in the home as a constant frustration, like a leaky roof that does not stop dripping (Proverbs 19:13; cf. 25:51). In fact, it says that it would be better to live in the desert or on the corner of a roof than to share a home with a woman of such character (Proverbs 21:9, 19; 25:24). Ungodly men are no better. We see the outcome of these types of men displayed in the husbandry of the likes of Achan (Joshua 7), Nabal (I Samuel 25), and Ahab (II Kings 9-10). Husbands are to love their wives and be the spiritual leaders of their homes. Wives are to submit to, respect, and be a helping compliment to their husband. If you choose poorly and without biblical wisdom there is still no out for you when things get hard. Unless there is a divorceable offense, (which there are only two) you are in it for life. This is why getting the answer to this question right on the front end makes life much more joyful and livable. When both parties go into the marriage with God as the anchor, and scripture as their guide, the answer becomes all the more clear. For it would be better to remain single, than to marry an unbeliever or to marry someone that is not a good fit. 50 or 60 years is a long time to be married. It would be wise to get this one right.

3. Where will I attend church?

You may think that this is an odd question to be on the list of the top 3 most important questions that you will ever answer, but it is here for a reason. Living in the Southeastern part of the United States, it seems like there is a church on every coroner. Many falsely believe that most all churches are the same. In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a reason there are so many denominations. There is a reason that some families are willing to drive an hour, and past 30 churches, to get to one good solid church. Not all churches preach the same gospel, or teach about the same Jesus. The fact is, there is only one Gospel, and only one Jesus that is recorded in Holy Scripture. You wouldn’t just allow any mechanic to work on your car. You wouldn’t just let any surgeon to do a life threatening surgery on you. No, you would want them to be been trained, and know what they are doing. With this being true, how much more important is choosing a church when it is such a major part of your spiritual life?

It is in the church where you exalt the Lord, receive exposition, get equipped, are edified, exhorted, encouraged, and your family is evangelized. Just because a church has a beautiful building, a big children’s program, or a hip pastor is no reason to choose to covenant with them in membership. You want a church that is going to preach and teach the Word faithfully . . .a church that takes the great commission seriously . . . a church that is orthodox in its theology . . . which believes in (and practices) the sufficiency of Scripture. The sad truth is, there are many churches that are very attractive, yet not very substantive. There are some who have their orthodoxy right, but their orthopraxy wrong. There are some who love the old reformers, but seem to hate people. Solomon wrote, “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 3:10). If you replaced the word “wife” with the words “local church” I believe it would be a fitting proverb as well.

Not all churches are the same. Where you choose to be fed and serve, matters. What doctrine and practice the church has matters. You want to be fed from the Word, not man’s opinions. You want to be equipped biblically in how to live holy, love your spouse, and train your children. You want your children to be grounded in the Scriptures. You want them to be around godly men and women who will provide good and godly examples. The church that you attend has a major role to play in your life. I believe Tim Challies has it right when he says, “The local church exists to glorify God through worshipping him, edifying his people, and evangelizing the world.” If this is the purpose of the church, which it is, then where you choose to covenant yourself and family truly matters. It really, really matters. If you have to drive an hour to get to a good one . . . drive. If you have to take a different job to allow yourself to be involved in one, I would encourage you to sharpen your resume. The church you become a member of will have a major effect on you and your whole family . . . not just now, but for eternity as well.

There they are. In my opinion, these are the three most important questions that you will ever need to answer. Every other question in life can be answered with wisdom and a high degree of confidence if you get these 3 right. With many questions to answer in life, I hope you will put great a priority on these 3 if you haven’t already. It will be well worth the investment.

Most of my life I have attended and ministered in churches that were associated with the Southern Baptist denomination. I have always enjoyed our missionary zeal, the doctrinal clarity in our confession, and the autonomy for individual churches. Growing up there was a single phrase that most all good Southern Baptist knew. The phrase was, “once saved, always saved.” Plus, I could quote John 3:16. That is all I needed to know on the subject right? It wasn’t until I got into my early 20’s that the phrase itself became troubling to me. To be clear, its intention is to promote the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, or eternal security. To this I whole heatedly applaud and stand in agreement, but I have seen many a person claim “once saved, always saved” and yet live like the devil. They believe that since they said a prayer, they are good with God.

One of the recurring questions that I get often in the ministry is “How can I be sure that I am saved?” John Piper recently touched on this subject while preaching at “The Cross Conference” (which I would commend to you) and I was just recently asked this question again by a young lady who seems to exhibit every outward Christian quality you could hope for in a teenager. It is a genuine question that many have asked and I believe to answer it all we need to do is to take a deep look…

Look to the Word:

The first place a person needs to look for this answer is God’s Word. You may have been taught a doctrine when you were small, but all doctrines need to be tested by Scripture. Does the Bible teach that a person can have eternal and everlasting life? Does Scripture teach that a child of God can have eternal security? I believe it most certainly does. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life.” Later in John’s Gospel he writes, “ . . . the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). He even illustrates it in John 10 by saying, “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” Paul’s letters are filled with such great assurances as well. We find them in, Ephesians 1:3-13, Ephesians 4:30, Philippians 1:6, and many more places. However, my favorite is found in Romans 8 where Paul exclaims, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified . . . who can bring a charge against God’s elect?” If God calls and God saves, then God also keeps. To be glorified is something that will not happen until we get to heaven. If a person who is saved is promised that he will be glorified one day, then it is a promise from God. It is apparent when we look to the Word, that a true child of God can indeed have eternal life and a security in it by looking at God’s promises from Scripture.

Look to the Witness:

In the same chapter in Romans, Paul makes an astounding statement. He says in Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” Here we see that the Holy Spirit is our inner witness that we are one of God’s children. There are two witnesses here, however. First, the Holy Spirit bears witness that we are children of God, but secondly we also have a role in bearing witness as well, as verse 15 indicates. We (our human spirits) cry out, “Abba, Father.” Both we and the Holy Spirit are testifying to God the Father that we are His children. We can see the fruit of this in verse 26, which asserts that when we pray the “Holy Spirit intercedes for us.” Only one that is a child of God can have the third person in the Trinity bear witness for them. So, if you are ever struggling with this common question of assurance, one of the best ways to help find comfort is to ask the Comforter and Witness Bearer for help.

Look to the Work:

The third place we should look is at our work. By this I mean both internally and externally. Do you hate sin? Do you repent of your sin when you sin? Do you love to worship the Lord and to see Him glorified? If these are true, then these are all signs of the Spirit’s work in you. An unregenerate person cannot have these qualities (Romans 3:10-11). Galatians 5 lays out what it looks like for us when Paul lists the fruit of the spirit. Are these fruits bearing in your life? These are all works of the Spirit in you. One of the evidences that He is indeed at work in you is that it flows from the internal into your external life and work as well. In I John he writes to the believers giving them a test for their assurance. If these things are true of you as well, then the test of works should help you rest assured that you are a child of God.

We must keep in mind that even an unbeliever can live “well” by a legalistic list of rules. Unbelievers can exhibit self control, longsuffering, and many other fruits. If they are only external qualities and not internal then it could be easy to have a false sense of security as the Pharisees did. However, when you have both the internal work (you heart is for God and the Kingdom) and it over flows into external change (Love for your brother, obedient living, transformed life) then this work is evidence of your salvation.

After looking at these three areas you should be able to do as Peter said in II Peter 1:10, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” There is nothing mystical about having assurance. You don’t have to climb a mountain and camp for a week eating only fruit and drinking water while in a constant state of prayer like a monk. God’s Word, God’s witness, and godly work are all evidences that you are a child of God. There may be times in your life when you sin and you ask yourself “How could I really be a believer and continue in this sin?” This is a good question to ask. It may be that you never really have believed in the Lord. It may be that you have outward signs of faith, but no inward witness. If this is the case, then repent and believe. The gospel is for you. However, if you simply need a check because you have been seeing some sin creep up in your life, then I encourage you to repent and look at these three areas. The Lord is not in the business of hiding Himself from His children. He has given us the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Guide. It would be my encouragement that if you seek assurance of your salvation, to seek these areas to help you rest assured that you are in Him, and that He is in you.

If you have been serious about your faith for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the old argument that goes something like this: “You claim that hearing about Jesus and believing in Him is the only way of salvation. But if the spoken word of the Gospel of Jesus is the only way to be saved, then what happens to the innocent African tribesman when he dies? He didn’t have a chance to be saved. That is not fair. And God is always fair.”

On its surface the argument seems compelling. Why would God send innocent people to hell just because they didn’t believe a Gospel that they never heard? Wouldn’t that concept make God some kind of narcissist? Is He creating people just for the satisfaction of destroying them without giving them a hope of salvation? I believe there is a good and biblical answer to this “African Tribesman” argument. Here are a few thoughts . . .

First Things First:

As we begin to think about this subject, consider this question: Is there such a thing as a poor, innocent tribesman at all? It depends. It is all according to what you mean when you say “innocent.” Are you talking about innocent before man or innocent before God? These are two different questions. Surely by man’s standards this poor fellow may be innocent, but that is not enough. In fact, I believe the best way to answer this question is to reply, “There is no need to worry about the “innocent” African tribesman, because if he is truly innocent he will go to heaven.” The problem with that question is that there are no innocent tribesmen anywhere on this planet, nor has there ever been. Romans 3:23 plainly states that “allhave sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Therefore, if you are talking about God’s innocent, then a better way to phrase the question is this: Can the truth about God that the tribesman has access to (nature and conscience) provide, by itself, saving truth for the tribesman? This is a question worth asking. When asking this question, there are a few things consider.

On one hand, one can read Psalm 19:1, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” In this we can see that creation itself cries out that there is a God. But is that enough? Does that truth produce enough evidence to provide salvation?

On the other hand, Luke writes in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Luke’s point is that salvation is found only in Christ. These two differing perspectives have become the basis for centuries of debate. Are the sun, moon, stars and the rest of creation that cries out that there is a Master Creator enough to bring someone salvation? Does someone have to hear the name of Christ and profess Him as Lord for salvation?

Two Definitions of Revelation:

“General Revelation” is the teaching that God has revealed himself through natural things that people can see, touch, and feel. A person does not have to intimately know God to see these things. This idea seems to echo the thought of passages such as Romans 1:19-20 and Psalm 19:1-2. Certainly general revelation dictates that humans have a responsibility to this revelation and to God.

“Special Revelation” is how God has chosen to reveal Himself through extraordinary means. Special revelation includes physical appearances of God, the written Word of God, and most importantly—Jesus Christ (John 1:1-14, Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 1:1-3).

These doctrines taken together hold that that there is at least enough revelation of God in His general revealing to condemn a person for their disbelief. The Bible claims that it takes special revelation for faith to be produced (Romans 10:17). For centuries, the Church has held as its teaching that general revelation is insufficient for salvation. This is where the Reformers came down on the issue. This is where I stand as well. There is no one who could stand before God and claim that they are innocent apart from Jesus’ blood. Without the message of the Gospel in special revelation, one cannot be saved.

A Common Question:

There is almost zero Biblical support for the African Tribesman argument. Rather, simply put, God saves through Jesus and we need to tell people about Jesus. So why is this argument so popular? It’s because it hints at the great American question. The question is, “Is God fair?” Many people feel that it is unfair of God to send a person to hell, especially this poor tribesman. But in God’s economy, if everyone got what was “fair” then we would all go to hell rightfully. We have violated a holy God and deserve nothing but His wrath. On the contrary, the Bible’s insistence on special revelation for salvation actually provides hope rather than damnation. It is out of the surpassing love of God that He gives anyone general revelation. It is out of His abundance of mercy and kindness that He reveals anything of Himself to us at all. His general love is not just given to His children alone but to all. Matthew 5:45 says, “. . . for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” His general revelation is a marvelous gift to the world. Then the question of fairness should be answered with a resounding “NO! God is NOT fair with us; He is gracious!” And I, for one, am grateful that He is this way. It is by grace that anyone is saved. It is by grace that anyone has general revelation. It is astonishing that He unfairly and graciously gives us that much.

Concluding Thoughts:

Let’s answer the question then, “Can the truth about God that the tribesman has access to provide, by itself, saving truth for the tribesman?” The answer to that question is no. General revelation does contain within itself truth about the God of salvation; indeed general revelation points toward the truths of salvation. Just as John the Baptist was not the Messiah, but he pointed toward the Messiah. His message proclaimed the truth about the Messiah, but it was not enough to save apart from Christ. The same is true about general revelation. General revelation contains truth about God, but only enough to condemn. It takes special revelation to reveal the complete truth of salvation. This should invigorate us to spread God’s gospel truth to everyone. God has given us special revelation to share and we need to share it to every person and people group around the world.